Every year people set out to achieve their fitness goals THIS YEAR. But far too often many fall short for one reason or another. Wouldn’t it be nice to finally be successful? What follows will outline some keys to success.

1. Write your goals down. Not only write them down but post them in a place you will look often. Remind yourself often of your goals. Let your eyes trigger you to take action toward your goals.
2. Write down the steps necessary to achieve your goals. For example, if your goal is to walk or run a mile at a (faster) pace, how will you get there? Lets say your goal is to walk an 18 minute mile while currently you walk a mile in 23 minutes. How many times per week will you need to be active? Can you use interval training to help lower your mile time? Are there smaller benchmarks on the way to achieving the ultimate goal. In this way, checking off the small steps or milestones along the way can help keep you motivated.
3. Employ an accountability partner. Having another person to work with can be immensely helpful to achieve fitness goals. People do not like to let others down, so having that partner can help both people along their journey to better fitness. Also exercise is more fun with another person.
4. Block time in your day/week for exercise. People are creatures of habit. Change is not easy. If you can find a reason to not exercise, you will surely find it. By blocking time out each day or several days per week for exercise, you have a greater chance of utilizing that time for exercise. If you tell yourself you will fit the exercise in whenever you have the time, you will conveniently never find the time.
5. Focus on the first 6 weeks. It takes about 6 weeks to create a new habit. It is during this time window where many people fail in their exercise journey. People will begin with high motivation but after 2 or 3 weeks will drop off for one reason or another. They will continue to tell themselves that next week, next month they will get back on track…but many do not.

Do not let that happen this year. Make your plan. Block off the necessary time. Find an accountability partner to have fun along the way. Focus on those first 6 weeks to create a new exercise habit…AND Achieve your fitness goals this year.